Yesterday went by like a series of fast cuts. On Twitter. In the news. On television.
Sure, we drank champagne in the streets with neighbors on Saturday a week ago (socially distanced). But even then it felt like a stay of execution rather than a reprieve. The winter of Covid was coming.
KagroX announced it on Twitter:
Proud Boy fascists and hooligan adversaries brawled in the streets of Washington, D.C. after dark Saturday night. The soon-to-be-former acting president urged District police to “do your job and don’t hold back!!!” on “ANTIFA SCUM.” The scenes began to resemble a disaster film.
CNN reported from a nearby hospital. But not about injuries sustained in street fighting:
Dr. James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital, told CNN’s Erica Hill he is “terrified” about what’s going to happen this holiday season.”
We’re going to see an unprecedented surge of cases following Thanksgiving this year, and if people don’t learn from Thanksgiving, we’re going to see it after Christmas as well,” Phillips said.
What’s that? About 28 Days Later?
The virus is overrunning hospitals across the northern tier. Minnesota chalked up a record 8,703 new cases and 35 new deaths on Saturday. The testing positivity rate there is 14.9%, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The increases are not simply a function of more testing. “Last Saturday, the seven-day average positivity rate was 12.6%. The reading was just 6.5% three weeks ago,” the report adds.
In neighboring South Dakota, an emergency room nurse had Saturday night off:
The raging coronavirus virus attacks the body. The Trump rage virus infected minds long before. It did not arrive either from China or from Europe. It is American-made. Americans infected by the latter would not take this disaster seriously if it was flesh-eating zombies. And some infected by QAnon think Democrats are all but.
Digby mentioned yesterday how tough this winter will be on those who own restaurants, bars, theatres, etc. A friend who owns a couple of restaurants here sent a gift card in thanks for, well, this and other political work. It is still warm enough to eat outdoors, but I’d be ashamed to use it just now. They need paying customers.
Or federal help. January 20th cannot get here soon enough. Will it make a difference? We will know after the Georgia runoffs on January 5th.
Meanwhile, Germany is running a cute ad urging its people to stay at home.